Damage-Point Estimation for Robot Linear Motion Guides
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is challenging to accurately calculate the load acting on a linear motion guide mechanism in robots due to changes in posture or load patterns during movement, making it difficult to identify potential damage points within these mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A damage-point estimation device and method that acquire physical and external force parameters during robot movement, calculate external forces and moments, and use these to determine equivalent loads on sliders, allowing for the extraction of estimated damage points based on safety factors and positions on the guide rail.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the guide rail is inspected across the entire length to ensure complete coverage of rolling surfaces, then inspection completeness is improved, but the number of inspection steps and time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the inspection focus from the entire guide rail length to only the critical rolling surface areas where damage is most likely to occur. By calculating equivalent loads and identifying high-stress regions, the inspection is concentrated on these extracted critical zones rather than the whole guide rail, reducing inspection steps while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating inspection requirements across different sections of the guide rail. Instead of uniform inspection of the entire length, the method identifies specific local regions with high equivalent loads that require detailed inspection, while other low-stress areas require minimal or no inspection, thereby reducing overall inspection time while ensuring critical areas are thoroughly examined.
2Reliability
If the slide member is moved together with the slider during inspection to access rolling surfaces below, then inspection coverage is improved, but the complexity of the inspection process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the inspection target to only the critical rolling surface areas identified through equivalent load calculation. By focusing inspection on these specific locations rather than requiring access to all areas including those below the slide member, the need to move the slide member is eliminated, thereby reducing process complexity while maintaining adequate inspection coverage of critical regions.
3Ease of manufacture
If the load on the linear motion bearing is calculated based on displacement measurement, then the recovery process is simplified, but the accuracy of load calculation decreases due to posture changes and load pattern variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the calculation parameters from simple displacement measurements to equivalent load calculations that incorporate multiple factors including robot posture, external forces, and geometric parameters. This parameter transformation enables accurate load determination despite posture changes and load pattern variations, while the equivalent load concept itself simplifies the recovery process by providing a unified metric for bearing selection.
Data Source
AI summary
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a damage-point estimation device that is capable of more accurately extracting points susceptible to damage in a linear-motion guide mechanism for a robot. A damage-point estimation device 30 comprises: a data acquisition unit 31 that acquires physical parameters concerning the motion of a robot 10 with respect to individual axes and external forces acting on the robot 10 at individual times when an action program for the robot 10 is executed; an external-force and moment calculation unit 32 that calculates the external forces and moments acting on a reference position of a slide member at the individual times; a load calculation unit 33 that calculates the loads acting on a slider at the individual times; an equivalent load calculation unit 34 that calculates the equivalent loads of the slider at the individual times; an estimated-damage-value calculation unit 35 that calculates the estimated damage values of the slider at the individual times; and an estimated damage point extraction unit 36 that extracts an estimated damage point of the linear-motion guide mechanism.